- Arsenal v Sunderland: the referee and his approach to the teams
- Arsenal: why it doesn’t matter that we don’t have a top scorer in the side
By Tony Attwood
Whichever way one looks at things, Arsenal are (at the moment at least) doing quite well. Top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League 8-game table, and in the League Cup final.
And noting those facts reminds me that I think we haven”t looked at the league tables based on the last six matches for a while.
Now I do find this table interesting because it does very much reflect current form, which is probably the best indicator there is as to what the result of a game might be. Not a perfect indicator of course, but still quite a good one.
And in looking at this, I will continue with something that has become a bit of a habit of late – that is the inclusion of Tottenham Hots in these tables, simply because it does seem to me the media is trying rather hardto skirt over the rampant decline of that club in recent times. Indeed I am also including not just the top four (because that is where Arsenal are) but also places 12 to 18 because it does include a range of clubs that we are regularly interested in, such as…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester Utd | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 12 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 11 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 8 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 8 |
| 12 | Liverpool | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 7 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 7 |
| 14 | Manchester City | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 7 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 7 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hots | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 4 |
So we can see immediately that Arsenal are in second, being chased down at this moment by Chelsea in third, with Manchester United forcing their way up the tabel as a result of a recent decent run.
But it is the lower rankings that are so fascinating. Of course, today we play Sunderland, and we can see that in their last six games they have won two, drawn two and lost two – very much in keeping with a mid-table club. As indeed is their goal difference over the period of minus one.
Yet if we look below Sunderland, we find Manchester City in 14th when it comes to the last six games, and perhaps less surprising but more amusing, Tottenham Hots in 18th. And this from a team that, after ten games this season, was actually fourth in the league and being talked up by pundits as a challenger for a European place. (Thankfully, I don’t think any pundit was quite stupid enough to suggest the Totts might win the league, but they did predict one or two successes.)
Yet by 1 December, they had sunk to 12th, and the decline has continued.
Meanwhile, back with the side we are playing against today, Sundlerland have been helped a bit of late by playing against what we might (at least for the moment) be calling the lesser teams – Crystal Palace (who they beat 2-1 at home) West Ham, (against whom they lost 3-1 away) and Burnley, whom they beat 3-0 at home. I suspect they will be seeing Arsenal as a team that presents one or two more problems. Indeed, I rather suspect Sunderland might be secretly rather pleased that the match is not on live TV in the UK!
You might also recall, if you are a regular reader, that we were recently looking at the fact that Arsenal do not have a player in the list of top scorers, but are the second-highest scoring team in the league at the moment. This comes from having goals being scored by a multiplicity of players.
Sunderland’s top scorer has five goals this season (Brian Borbley), one fewer than Arsenal’s top man with six. But then Sunderland have just two players with four goals each. Arsenal however, have five players with four goals each, which not only adds to the goals but means there is a lot of cover if a goal scorer gets injured, and a lot of uncertainty in the opposition as to where the goals are coming from. Multiple goal scorers rather than one or two key players is a new approach, and rather confusing for the mono-thinking scribblers, I fear.
Which in turn explains why Arsenal have scored 46 (second highest in the league as I have noted) and Sunderland only 27. Only Everton, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, and, of course, Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored fewer.
So by and large, whichever way we manage to look at things, Arsenal should have the upper hand in this game. In the next (and final) post before the game, we’ll have our usual look at who the experts think might be playing for Arsenal this afternoon.
